The war against PTSD in the US army

8/2/10

After ignoring and dodging the issue for years, the US army is being forced to face the alarming numbers of soldiers who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The suicide rate among troops on active duty is at an all time high and rising, while veterans are bringing the war home to their families and communities in the form of addiction, abuse and even murder. They are committing suicide at the rate of 18 a day. Al Jazeera’s The War Within programme examined the toll repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are taking on soldiers. To understand the symptoms and causes of PTSD from a medical perspective, Al Jazeera spoke to Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist and the president and founder of Give An Hour (GAH), a nonprofit organisation that provides free mental health services to US military personnel and their families who have been affected by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan